[3] In the 1697 raid on Cartagena, during the War of the Grand Alliance, the castle fell to the French privateer Baron de Pointis.

British Admiral Edward Vernon attacked the fortress in the 1741 Battle of Cartagena de Indias, an important conflict of the War of Jenkins' Ear.

The fortification consists of a series of walls, wide at the base and narrow toward the parapet, forming a formidable pattern of bunkers.

The San Lazaro battery's terreplein included aljibes, while channels and breakwaters dealt with rainwater.

When it ceased to be used for military purposes, tropical vegetation covered the battlements and walls, and soil accumulated in the tunnels and trenches.

In 1984, UNESCO listed the castle, along with the historic centre of the city of Cartagena, as a World Heritage Site.